How Lightsabers Work

<p>Would you buy a boat or a midcentury sideboard from your high school pals? Because Oz&rsquo;s alma mater has opened an <em>exclusive</em> online marketplace for just this purpose! This week, Oz spins a yarn about Kitkat, the San Francisco cat killed by a Waymo. Locals are furi ... Show More

<p>This week, Oz talks to Nick McKeown, who is a member of the PM&rsquo;s Council of Science and Technology, where he advises the British government on the best opportunities for economic growth in the tech sector. And according to Nick, that opportunity is AI Chips. He argues th ... Show More

<p>Malcolm Gladwell heads to San Francisco Tech Week to talk with IBM&rsquo;s new Director of Research Jay Gambetta in front of a live audience. They discuss IBM&rsquo;s plans to scale quantum computing power, the groundbreaking experiments already underway, and what impact these ... Show More

<p>What do Edison, Tesla and an unfortunate elephant named Topsy have in common? They were all involved in "The War of Currents," an ongoing battle over the standardization of electricity. Tune in and learn more about Topsy's fate in this episode.</p><p> </p> Learn more about you ... Show More

In this episode of STBYM’s The Artifact, Robert discusses an ancient Chinese sword noted for its unusual sharpness and resistance to tarnish... Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

As the Invention podcast ends, discussions of techno-history become part of STBYM again. So let's explore some past episodes of Robert and Joe's other series. Here's their sidebar with Scott Benjamin about a mysterious death in the history of motion picture technology... Learn mo ... Show More

In celebration of May the 4th, this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind ventures into a galaxy far, far away while also considering the science and biology of our home world. Join Robert and Joe as they break down six fantastic alien species from the Star Wars universe. Learn more ... Show More

In this episode of STBYM’s The Artifact, Robert discusses the bazooka and whether it is ever OK to bring one on a commercial flight… Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

In this episode of STBYM’s The Artifact, Robert discusses the Mesoamerican weapon known as the Macuahuitl... Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

After our sun dies, it and many other stars will eventually crystallize. Learn how astrophysicists figured this out -- and how it works -- in today's episode of BrainStuff. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for pri ... Show More

The creation of atomic weaponry changed human civilization forever, but it also left its mark on the Earth itself -- in both obvious and subtle ways. In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe discuss some of the ways in which the world would not be the same. Lear ... Show More

On a clear night, the stars seem to wink and twinkle in the sky. Learn why in this classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://science.howstuffworks.com/why-do-stars-twinkle.htm Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystud ... Show More

For many of us, toy guns were part of our childhood, but how are we to think about them today? In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe look at some of the current thinking on the use of toy weapons in childhood play. Learn more about your ad-choices at https:// ... Show More